Show & Tell Tuesday

I loved today's post from my favorite mom blogger and decided to join in on the fun.  Of COURSE I did.  It's all about organization.  :)  I'm linking up with Momfessionals.

No matter the size of your humble abode and no matter the mess that awaits you to start your organization process, start with small steps.  Years ago I stumbled upon the Fly Lady.  I loved her advice~start with your kitchen sink.  Shine that sink and clean it every single day, and it will eventually inspire you to spread that to the rest of your house.  For instance, since your sink is in your kitchen, start there.  If there is clutter on your kitchen counters or table, start with cleaning those off.  If that means buying something and you are able to do that, then great!  If not, start the sorting process.  Trash some, and keep only what is important.  My advice is to get all the paper clutter off of your surfaces.  Make piles and work from there.  The point is to come up with a system that works for you.  Start small and in one area, and I promise you that it will inspire you to work on other problem areas.

I also recommend that you clean off any bookshelves or desks in your house.  We have bookshelves in three areas in our home~in our living room, in the playroom upstairs (two of them!) and in my bedroom.  I let those get messy and unorganized from time to time and it drives me bonkers.  Take the time each week to tidy them up.  Whether that's dusting them or cleaning them off completely and reloading them, take a few minutes each week and at least do that.  It'll make a huge difference.  (You would be so proud if you knew how many books I got rid of on Saturday.  I took two huge bags to be donated to my favorite trade and buy bookstore.  I still have a lot that they didn't take, so I will donate the rest to my church library and to our local library.)

I try to keep our rooms in our house picked up.  If you have small kids that still play with toys in every room, then by all means, let them play!  When mine were little, in the days when they played wherever I was, I would have them pick their toys up each night before bed.  Now that mine are older, they make the messes in their rooms.  I don't make them clean up every single night, but at least twice a week, we have a cleaning session.  Usually on Friday's and Monday's.  That's when we seem to do the most damage.  I love to start and end the weekend with a clean home.

I know at one point in the lives of my kids, their toys overtook my house for a while.  All I have to say about that is that I tried to have storage containers they could use to put their things away.  That meant that for years and years, we had an ugly toy box in our living room.  I didn't mind that it wasn't attractive, as long as it could hold the toys.  I also have storage areas in their rooms that they can use.  We've worked hard to make it easy for our boys to have a place to put everything.

Another thing I do is to dust often.  When I dust, it forces me to take the time to put things back where they belong.  I am bad about leaving all my books and journals laying everywhere.  I try to keep our surfaces cleaned off.  I sometimes light a candle to inspire me.  Because if my house smells good, it makes me want to have a clean, or at least straightened up, house.  I make my boys help.  They each have to do their own part around here, or none of this would be possible.  We put away our laundry almost as soon as it's folded.

These may seem like small steps, but this is what has worked for me.  I hope something I've suggested inspires you to get started!  Just start small, and it will spread.  I promise.  Thanks for reading!  Love to all.